tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7492716471193884562..comments2016-12-09T18:31:41.108-05:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Retreat 1970s-'80s New York City club / WED 8-31-11 / Victim in Camus's Stranger / 1922 Physics Nobelist / Reindeer herderRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42626821625326143492011-10-06T20:41:37.864-04:002011-10-06T20:41:37.864-04:00What a night/day difference between two almost-sam...What a night/day difference between two almost-same-named bloggers: Zak and zach! Zak needs to take a chill pill. It&#39;s pretty widely acknowledged that the Beach Boys contributed innovative vocal harmonics to our musical history, and so I come down on zach&#39;s side. Ditto many comments about DONT WORRY BABY; if you listen to those lyrics, the girl&#39;s soothing reassurances echo those of many artists of the day, as their followers faced increasingly troubling times. That song hit just the right notes for a lot of us.<br /> LITTLESAINTNICK? Well, okay for calling it a &quot;hit;&quot; it was, sort of, making the top ten of a few cities and the top twenty of a few more for the holidays, but I doubt anyone citing The BB&#39;s best work would mention that one. I&#39;m disappointed that &quot;Good Vibrations&quot; contains only 14 letters. Talk about innovation!<br /> Anyway, I enjoy nostalgic themes wherever I find them, crosswords included.<br /><br />capocan: The Don markets his own pasta sauce.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8621919460891264882011-10-06T13:15:47.262-04:002011-10-06T13:15:47.262-04:00Puzzle was fine, but I did not finish because of a...Puzzle was fine, but I did not finish because of a stupid mistake. For 29D (Like), I had isINTO. Yes, of course I can see that that&#39;s the wrong tense now. But RAsER looked fine (person who rases (demolishes) a house, though maybe that&#39;s Canadian spelling), and I thought PLiTOS??? If the club had been PLATO&#39;S Cave (not Retreat), I woulda got it for sure!<br /><br />@Dirigonzo: hear, hear. Though this blog wouldn&#39;t be quite as entertaining to read :-)Red Valerianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34658020210896029862011-10-05T15:42:55.213-04:002011-10-05T15:42:55.213-04:00Writing in synditime, and like @long suffering met...Writing in synditime, and like @long suffering mets fan I had a bad BB&#39;s concert experience. Mine was in 1964 when they played in Bangor, Maine (I don&#39;t remember the name of the venue, but there was a big statue of Paul Bunyon outside - still there, I think). <br />After making the crowd wait way too long (there was no opening act) they came on stage and proceeded to lip-sync their way trhough the entire set! And then they left - there were no calls for an encore.<br /><br />The puzzle was better than the concert although I just noticed that I left the IxO/AxOU cross blank because I had no clue as to what consonant belonged there.<br /><br />Interesting that the inter-generational pop-culture war among the commenters rages on. &quot;Can&#39;t we all just get along?&quot;Dirigonzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50196388200983039462011-10-05T14:49:58.684-04:002011-10-05T14:49:58.684-04:00I (Heart) the arguing over the validity of the Bea...I (Heart) the arguing over the validity of the Beach Boys legacy and their relevance to the younger crowd. I would love to hear the hue and cry of the older set if there were a puzzle about the songs of Eminem or They Might Be Giants or any other of the bands that people who are in their 40s love...even better if the arguments were over the songs of Grizzley Bear or Bright Eyes or Pomplamoose, but none of those songs have entered the lexicon enough to be NYT worthy....YET. <br />I do agree with @Two Ponies - I have had the opportunity to see them free before....and passed both times. Tomato /To-Maa-To.<br /><br />you wouldn&#39;t believe the CAPTCHA for the day *fights* Really.Lurking, Just Behind Younoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74515059516021431362011-10-05T14:33:23.944-04:002011-10-05T14:33:23.944-04:00@Zak 9:16 AM
Spoken like a toddler.@Zak 9:16 AM<br />Spoken like a toddler.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41780584463631788882011-10-05T12:34:32.609-04:002011-10-05T12:34:32.609-04:00At 91 I&#39;m too OLD for Beach Boy music.
let&#...At 91 I&#39;m too OLD for Beach Boy music. <br /><br />let&#39;s have a happy medium re music? Neutral territory? <br /><br />I MISS Eugene Maleska. my diminishing age group work the puzzles daily, great brain exercise, but miss the classics, Latin, etc. We are a diminishing number. Rex does a great job of selection MOST days, even from my warped perspective!gracenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36898629447971923212011-10-05T12:12:03.824-04:002011-10-05T12:12:03.824-04:00Like others, I had trouble with DOL, but it did no...Like others, I had trouble with DOL, but it did not enrage me. Capital clearly has 2 meanings, I should have been more flexible. <br /><br />Speaking of flexibility, Zak&#39;s rant on Beach Boy music shows little. Quite the commissar of taste, Zak. My kids (in their twenties) do like the Beach Boys; I&#39;m more neutral, but In My Room and Wouldn&#39;t It Be Nice linger quite nicely, even today.<br /><br />Classical (orchestral) music had its arc long ago, zenithing (ha!) sometime in the late Baroque (Bach) and early Classical (Mozart), and then descended beginning with Beethoven (overrated, especially the later works, but then again, he was deaf) and Mahler (almost unlistenable) to today&#39;s orchestral offerings which are terrible. Given the option of listening to &quot;Wozzeck&quot; all the way through, or doing 3 years in a chain gang, well, it would take a little thought . . .<br /><br />Similarly, popular music had its arc, acme-ing (ha!) with the Big Band era and the musical complexity of Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and other true musicians. Since then (beginning with Elvis) it&#39;s been a pretty straight descent. The Beach Boys, with their various themes and harmonics were a lone bright spot. Perhaps a little respite with some of the early folk music types, maybe the first 2 or 3 albums from Simon and Garfunkel. The Beatles? Remarkably mundane (and musically illiterate)--borrowers of American R&amp;B and heirs to the British music hall tradition of silly ditties (Maxwell&#39;s Silver Hammer, Octopus&#39; Garden, need I say more?) with some rather remarkable treacle of their own (Michelle, Yesterday). Is the White Album the Wozzeck of pop music? Of course today with rap (pretty much self important doggerel) and the decline of the country tradition, there is little left. But that&#39;s the way declines end.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16421403572509284371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84925231577732652172011-09-01T15:26:43.886-04:002011-09-01T15:26:43.886-04:00Blogden Bob: check your Webster&#39;s: CAPITAL, ca...Blogden Bob: check your Webster&#39;s: CAPITAL, cash; CAPITOL: DC. Tripped me, too. These folks are sly!+wordphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05693465770426693314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24625882164505075012011-09-01T14:03:15.580-04:002011-09-01T14:03:15.580-04:00BOB: DOLLARBOB: DOLLARCool Dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65653087601315648212011-09-01T14:02:26.125-04:002011-09-01T14:02:26.125-04:00Don&#39;t Worry Baby--best record of the 60&#39;s?...Don&#39;t Worry Baby--best record of the 60&#39;s? Probably!Cool Dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79900585683817704922011-09-01T00:52:56.050-04:002011-09-01T00:52:56.050-04:00Remember that line from &quot;American Graffiti&qu...Remember that line from &quot;American Graffiti&quot;? Don&#39;t like that &#39;surfing #!*% either. This was not easy for a R&amp;B fan.+wordphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05693465770426693314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24058371672427844742011-09-01T00:25:48.842-04:002011-09-01T00:25:48.842-04:0050 Down (Capital of US): How is &quot;DOL&quot; an...50 Down (Capital of US): How is &quot;DOL&quot; an abbreviation for the District of Columbia? District Of coLumbia? <br /><br />This puzzle was bullshit.BlogdenBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08567285038934143243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25919221735315000812011-08-31T23:04:35.650-04:002011-08-31T23:04:35.650-04:00I&#39;m not generally one for political correctnes...I&#39;m not generally one for political correctness, but @Glimmerglass understates the issue with using LAPP. In Norway and Sweden, it has the offensive force of &quot;nigger&quot; and &quot;chink&quot; - and as such it really does not belong in NYT crosswords. Just sayin&#39;. (For my sins, I lived in Scandinavia for a decade).<br /><br />Otherwise, I liked it because I finished it with no trouble despite being too young to be familiar with the Beach Boys catalog. Oh, I recognize their sound on the radio, and can even hum along, but as for what their hits were called. . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61097518218404885812011-08-31T22:26:53.193-04:002011-08-31T22:26:53.193-04:00Had GERM at 14 across until POLO made me change it...Had GERM at 14 across until POLO made me change it, which was an easy fix but points to a pet peeve of mine: Lysol is a *disinfectant* spray, not a *deodorant* spray.Marlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00803853060625250318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21817938465024710652011-08-31T21:43:31.540-04:002011-08-31T21:43:31.540-04:00@zak: here&#39;s from someone who is extremely wea...@zak: here&#39;s from someone who is extremely weak on pop references. I did just fine with this puzzle!machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7318380504072480722011-08-31T21:18:42.195-04:002011-08-31T21:18:42.195-04:00@Z - MTV&#39;s &quot;The Real World&quot; has been...@Z - MTV&#39;s &quot;The Real World&quot; has been hugely influential in the reality-TV space, which is hugely successful. Is it worth investigating?<br /><br />I&#39;ll stop, I really don&#39;t mean to be a troll. I&#39;m just sick of the shallow pop references and would prefer a less Shortzian crossword.Zakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18164476599267736937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49896261997899390282011-08-31T21:13:50.410-04:002011-08-31T21:13:50.410-04:00Knew all the songs, so found this pretty easy, exc...Knew all the songs, so found this pretty easy, except for the Naticky lower left corner.<br /><br />Whether you liked the puzzle or not, any puzzle with this many comments has obviously hit some nerves.<br /><br />Finally got power back today - what a relief! 61 hours without power sure felt like a lot longer...JenCThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81381568064093304902011-08-31T21:12:49.745-04:002011-08-31T21:12:49.745-04:00@acme ... thanks for article, I can&#39;t wait to ...@acme ... thanks for article, I can&#39;t wait to hear the &quot;Smile Sessions.&quot; <br /><br />@Zak, the Beach Boys influenced the Beatles ... and you&#39;re all wet, because I just figured it out, you&#39;re a TROLL.johohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7533156148113688732011-08-31T21:07:46.003-04:002011-08-31T21:07:46.003-04:00@Zak - &quot;not worth investigating, no matter ho...@Zak - &quot;not worth investigating, no matter how influential it may be.&quot; - ummm, if it is &quot;influential&quot; than people who are successful at the craft are saying that it is good. &quot;I don&#39;t care what the experts think&quot; puts you right in the flat-earther, creationist category. Maybe you want to rethink your disdain?<br /><br />That&#39;s three, it&#39;s late, I&#39;m out.<br />Missing SanFranMan - anyone know what&#39;s up?Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66402394450409511022011-08-31T20:59:39.647-04:002011-08-31T20:59:39.647-04:00This one&#39;s for you Pete
Sail on SailorThis one&#39;s for you Pete<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dWzSPf0Y30" rel="nofollow">Sail on Sailor</a>Smittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939710008630124836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52743168850334048042011-08-31T20:52:25.733-04:002011-08-31T20:52:25.733-04:00Talking about today&#39;s blog over dinner and ask...Talking about today&#39;s blog over dinner and asked my 14 year old (plays bass in a band with his HS buddies) what he knew about the Beach Boys. His response, &quot;Didn&#39;t the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch84fmOa414" rel="nofollow">Bare Naked Ladies</a> do a song about someone in that band?&quot;<br /><br />For the record - the 14 year-old hates Bieber&#39;s music but still has a Bieber haircut.Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12013734856300773632011-08-31T20:52:18.049-04:002011-08-31T20:52:18.049-04:00I&#39;ll clarify. I grossly oversimplified my unde...I&#39;ll clarify. I grossly oversimplified my understanding of the Beach Boys. I have heard the Beach Boys&#39; music. It is treacly, sappy garbage and, IMO, not worth investigating, no matter how influential it may be. Pet Sounds, always pimped as a masterwork chiefly because its author is mentally ill, is especially intolerable. <br /><br />I also deplore crosswords that overly rely on dated pop-cultural references, such as the Beach Boys, but also bar soaps (DIAL) and other banalities that are doomed to fade from public memory. Let&#39;s be real: The Beach Boys don&#39;t matter in any significant way to anyone under 30. We&#39;re not talking about Beethoven here, or even The Beatles. It&#39;s asinine to assume that younger crossword players will know their catalog, and we of course are the future consumers of these puzzles.<br /><br />P.S. - DOL also was total horseshit. ICICLED too, but that was extremely easy to suss out.Zakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18164476599267736937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26171764146248403742011-08-31T20:33:54.622-04:002011-08-31T20:33:54.622-04:00since the NYT is charging for content now, I&#39;l...since the NYT is charging for content now, I&#39;ll just paste this here...It&#39;s from today in case anyone didn&#39;t think being in a band that has lasted 50 years was worthy of a crossword tribute!<br />Unfinished Beach Boys Album Is Set for Release, 44 Years Later<br />By JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR.<br /><br />One of the most famous unfinished recordings in the history of popular music –The Beach Boys’ “Smile” sessions — will be released in November, 44 years after it was scheduled to come out, Capitol/EMI records has announced.<br /><br />The recordings were made in 1966 and 1967 and were intended to follow on the band’s critically acclaimed album “Pet Sounds.” But “Smile” was left unfinished and shelved after the group’s co-founder, Brian Wilson, suffered an emotional breakdown and the group’s legal dispute with Capitol Records over the formation of the band’s label.<br /><br />Mr. Wilson was riding the crest of his creative peak during the sessions, and the zaniness surrounding the recordings has become part of the band’s legend. Some of the songs were said to have been written in a sandbox Mr. Wilson had installed in his living room to recreate the feeling of the beach. Mr. Wilson also was said to have set the studio on fire during the recording of another song, “Fire,” which was to have been part of a suite about the elements.<br /><br />Some tracks were later released as singles or appeared on bootleg tapes, and Mr. Wilson re-recorded the set of songs for a solo release in 2004.<br /><br />The two-CD set entitled “The SMiLE Sessions” will include material never made public, including studio chatter, bonus tracks and alternative versions of some songs, the label said. A deluxe set will also be released with four compact discs full of additional recordings from the sessions and a book of photos that have not been published.acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25921015740033481682011-08-31T20:14:57.263-04:002011-08-31T20:14:57.263-04:00Great theme. and mini-theme Thrilla in Manilla, on...Great theme. and mini-theme Thrilla in Manilla, one of the few sports I understand. <br /><br />Did not have to Google, either, but did wonder over DOL. Now I see. <br /><br />Peter Collins, &quot;May his tribe increase&quot; - and his puzzles. Nice ref to Leigh Hunt&#39;s poem, which I read to my class after 911.<br /><br />@Branwell - speaking of Rashomon type stories - How about that Cheney?Sfingihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50862925685551934882011-08-31T19:53:53.179-04:002011-08-31T19:53:53.179-04:00ABOU ben Adhem will always make me smile in the pu...ABOU ben Adhem will always make me smile in the puzzle, ever since Rex years ago admitted he had never even heard of the poem. Woo, that was bizarre.<br /><br />And I&#39;m old enough to remember Biafra and the Nigerian Civil War: the IBO were the dominant Biafran people trying to secede.<br /><br />So I found the SW corner very easy.<br /><br />On the other hand, other than CALIFORNIA GIRLS, not one of the song titles rings any bells. I had a bit of difficulty filling in LITTLE ----- NICK, in fact, but at some point guessed it and finished that part.<br /><br />Even worse, I had great difficulty finishing the middle west. ---TOS Retreat meant nothing to me, could not guess the fall man, had OV? and EST?, and no luck guessing ---NDA. BreNDA? Eventually PROPER and LAVISH came to mind, and then I had to change &quot;is INTO&quot; to &quot;AKIN TO&quot; and I was done.william e embanoreply@blogger.com